Absolutely not, after seeing what my Aunt goes through. Nobody in my family is because of her. She has a severe case of it, rivaling the worst ones on the reality shows, I'm sorry to say.At least it keeps all her relatives from being hoarders, so it does have one positive.
Just be careful that your fear of becoming a hoarder doesn't cause you to go off the deep end in the other direction. Compulsive throwing away/ cleaning/ tidying is as much of a mental issue as hoarding.
A degree of sentimentality is good for a healthy person. If that involves saving things... simply find space for the important stuff.
I knew an old guy whose wife became like that. She was infatic/ obsessive that their attic and basement be spotless to the point of rendering them empty. Storing stuff is what attics and basements are for! Anyway, she threw away things like very valuable ancient baseball cards and comic books and such, with total disregard for their value, or for the fact that they were her husband's possessions.
On those hoarding reality shows, there seems to be similar circumstances, hoarding behavior following the death of a loved one or a divorce.
Loneliness causes people to collect things. Any psychologist will tell you that hoarders are really trying to reclaim a sense of control by holding onto things.
My Aunt grew up in the country without a lot of money, too.
Not having money is another indicator. Folks who grew up through the Depression when everyone kept and reused everything find it hard to get rid of things. It becomes a mindset. I think society today has more of a throw away mentality. And as a result kids lack sentiment.
Most of my Aunt's stuff is junk. She has some collectible tableware and glassware
See! Even for all the trash there is always some gems hidden in the piles! Don't be too quick to throw away or to declare it all "junk"!
You should have tons of garage sales! Garage sales are awesome. Before you know it, you have hundreds of dollars.
Yeah, yard sales are cool. The last one I made nearly $2000! You get to see your neighbors but it's a little weird having them pick through your stuff. To avoid the neighbors thing I've considered going the flea market/ antique fair route. But this would be a whole lot more difficult than just bringing stuff up from the basement out onto the front lawn.
You don't want your basement to escalate into a hoarding situation, bursting at the seams, so keep an eye on it.
I try to keep on top of it. I've always been a collector but, again, only good stuff (interesting, valuable, etc). You won't find so much as a used wrapper or a dirty dish in my house.
she will micromanage you and won't let you get rid of too much stuff.
My grandfather was like this. I wouldn't like people messing with my stuff either! Not that I'm so attached to it, really. Mostly for fear that they'd be like my brother and just wanton throw everything away without regard for value, sentimental or monetary.
